System Shock Demo

The demo on GOG is a slightly older version than the one on Steam. It's cool to be able to compare the two, but it's a disservice to GOG customers to not provide the same version of the demo here. It definitely makes me less interested in purchasing on GOG for fear of receiving an inferior product, or one that is not kept up to date.

I often get frustrated with remakes because they change too much. I know the original game had problems and bugs but for a lot of older games I've enjoyed, those just add character to the game. So I often wish that remakes and remasters of games would leave all that other stuff alone and just update the graphics. I think this does just that. The graphics look fantastic will still having a pixel art feel to them. The UI is clean and easy to read and use and yet the core gameplay is just as I remember. Maybe it's not exactly the same (it has been a while since I played the original) but it's close enough for me. I look forward to the release of the full game and had a lot of fun with this demo.

Unlike some, I actually *really* like the pixellated textures. It looks like they've been intentionally downsampled with random noise in order to get that 90s "pixellated sprite" look. The modern lighting and particle effects only serve to improve the neon cyberpunk look. Movement feels a bit stiff, but otherwise appears to be accurately replicating the original's gameplay with a more modern control scheme. The soundtrack sounds promising, but I'll withhold judgement until I see the original opening cinematic remade with the new track. Everything, down to the small touches just "feels" like System Shock, so I'm very optimistic about the artistic direction if nothing else.

I haven't played the original (I have it on Steam, but haven't got around to playing it yet) so I can't really tell how faithful of a remake this is. Overall I was very impressed by the demo and had fun blasting through it. Here's some of my key thoughts: - I love the old school scifi aesthetics - Great claustrofobic atmosphere - Gunplay feels intense - I like how the game tells you what you are looking at - I kinda like the pixelated textures. Gives the game a unique look, although I won't cry if they decided to change them. They don't look so good on character models Things to improve on: - Melee combat doesn't feel too great. The enemies need to be more responsive - The world is very static. You can't move things around or break stuff like computer screens - Performance

I'll try and keep it short - Immersion is great. Music is great. - I love the pixelated aesthetic and art direction - Difficulty is a bit high, I believe mostly because enemies have such short reaction times and long weapon range. Would be nice if this came as a configurable difficulty setting. - Audio logs are awkward to manage if you're trying to look back and find details you need. Bioshock Infinite made this idiot-proof by telling you explicitly "You got an audio log with a code 5-3-2-1"; maybe this could be turned on or off in the settings the same as "Point camera towards hints" currently works. - Pickup items, particularly important stuff like key cards, are a bit hard to locate at a glance when they're on a shelf with lots of other junk. I would appreciate another configurable option to highlight these items for players that have difficulty with it. - Many wall and floor textures look identical which makes it easy to get lost. I realize this was an issue with the original though. The minimap is a lifesaver. - Speaking of minimap, sometimes when I've fully explored a room there are still edge vertices that are not filled in, making it look like there's a door or unexplored exit somewhere when there's not. This is a minor annoyance - It would be nice also to be able to mark notes on the map, like "Level 2 access door", so I can remember what places I need to backtrack to. Overall I think this is heading in a good direction and I'm excited to play the full game when it's finished.